TRANCE

 Crime thriller

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS

James McAvoy: Simon, an auction house employee

Vincent Cassel: Franck, an associate

Rosario Dawson: hypnotherapist Elizabeth Lamb

REVIEW

It’s never much fun when you realize you’re being jerked around when you make an honest effort to sort things out for yourself. When filmmakers resort to that kind of manipulation, it’s time to walk out which I did.

This is an example of the twists and turns, the flashbacks and reversals one has to cope with: in one scene Simon takes the time to shoot and kill three bad guys but then it turns out he just imaged that and they are still alive wanting to kill him. But we the audience have no way of knowing it was all in his head so you take it at face value only to be yanked back with the reveal. You soon begin to feel like a puppet on a string.

Not surprising Ralph’s Rule of Redundancy applies:

“Any film where one person takes on more than 2 key positions (Danny Boyle is Writer, Director and Producer) has a major shortcoming: the absence of independent critical judgement that results in something less than it might have been.”

CLASSIFICATION

 for sexual content, graphic nudity, violence, some grisly images and language.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY

• The revolver Simon uses has just 6 cartridges yet fires off a dozen rounds in the garage.
• Gasoline ignites between 500°F and 540°F so firing a bullet at a trail of gasoline will not set it ablaze.